The last time fans cheered on Arizona women’s basketball in McKale Center, it was an unexpected loss to California on senior night in February 2020. The Wildcats thought they would be back in just a few weeks. They were almost assured to host the opening rounds of the 2020 NCAA Tournament.
Instead, the 2019-20 season came to a screeching halt with no tournament, and the players spent last season playing in mostly empty arenas until the postseason. Those days end Thursday at 6 p.m. MST when Arizona hosts Eastern New Mexico for the first exhibition of the season.